Classic car clubs urged to embrace social media

Classic car clubs are being urged to embrace social media if they want to broaden their reach and ensure a bright future.

Members of the Triumph Stag Owners’ Club urged clubs to create an online presence using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube but warned that it would take time before they saw results.

The Stag club has seen great success with its online iniatives. It currently has 5134 ‘likes’ for its Facbook page – compared to 4300 paid up club members.

Tony Lake from the club said, ‘Social media is fantastic. It is like a 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year natter and noggin.'

Through sites like Facebook, club members can share pictures of their cars and tell like-minded enthusiasts about their events, delegates at the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs annual conference heard.

Clubs can also reach new members all over the world. And, when people need help with their cars, they can quickly make contact with experienced classic car owners who can offer them help and support.

The club's Julie Gallagher added, ‘This is a great way to reach younger car enthusiasts – 33% of people who look at our Facebook page are under 25 years old.’

Fears that managing social media was too time consuming for clubs were dispelled when Tony revealed that the Stag club spends less than three hours a week on it.